You’ve hit the other nail right on the head. Indeed, as I’ve blogged several times, that is *exactly* the point of Rabbinic Judaism and was, for some time, of Rabbinic Christianity. It is the wrestling with the text, with God, with the faith that makes us - and it - stronger. That has been my argument for quite some time.

My point only sounds odd after the last 1000 years or so. Judaism is once again in flux, as is Christianity, albeit only in a broad sense that may not be accepted by all groups of Christians who insist - rightly or wrongly - on a more-narrow definition. Certain parts of both traditions try to hold on to something that is (without much evidence) claimed to be the way it always was in an artificial stasis.

The problem with your conclusion is that you leave the door wide open to the logical conclusion that we are the ones who somehow set doctrine for God. All I have to do is wrestle with Him hard enough and I can change things to the way I wish them to be. Under your argument, anything any group of Christians wants to do goes. Many times that can be benign, but . . .

Another side effect of your argument is that anything a follower of Judaism wants to do goes.

Or for that matter, any follower of Islam. After all, all three religions look to the same Yahweh.

In fact, are you not making God so dependent on man’s free will that we can no longer count on His commitments? Certainly, any good parent has to know when to say, “no,” and enforce it.